


After All

by burusu



Category: Rockman Megamix | Mega Man Megamix, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Afterlife, Character Death, M/M, Memory Loss, Reunions, Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 20:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30044472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burusu/pseuds/burusu
Summary: Shadow reunites with his long lost beloved.
Relationships: Blues | Proto Man/Shadow Man
Kudos: 2





	After All

**Author's Note:**

> hiiii! this is my first MM fic in a while shjdfjjd, i hope it's decent!!  
> came up with this story at work, idk i was on the line and inspiration just. HIT ME

Shadow didn't know how long it'd been. Well, his systems knew down to the minute: 234 years, 6 months, 13 days and 142 minutes. But he himself had lost track of time, not even registering its passing. A hundred years seemed like a lifetime to someone who was young, but to him? It was like blinking. 

There was nothing interesting about the world anymore. All the green, all the civilization, any spark of life had been extinguished, at least from what he could see. He hadn't made contact with any person in years, aimlessly wandering through the desolate wasteland that was once Earth with no purpose other than to survive. But he'd long lost the reason he was even trying to begin with. His memories were mostly corrupted and degraded, to the point where he could barely recognize his own face.

He was called Shadow Man. That much he knew. He was a Robot Master, and likely the last of his kind. There used to be others, but he could no longer remember their faces or designations. He had been in at least one war. The rest, save for one specific memory, was degraded to the point that it wasn't recoverable.

The last thing he remembered, and the only memory that had stayed relatively intact, was a single scene: he was in a building he could no longer place, holding a man in his arms. He knew the man was important, very important to him, but he couldn't recall his name. The man was speaking to him, trembling hand reaching up to his face.

"Shadow," He said to him, in a weak voice, "I want you to live. Live for me. Please." 

Shadow remembered crying, as if this person was his entire being. He didn't understand what their relationship had been, nor what had caused the man to lay dying in his arms. But the memory ended with the crushing feeling of loss, as the life faded from the man completely.

It was the memory he replayed the most, trying to access the rest of his time with that person, with no success. Who was he? Why did his core feel heavy when he thought of him?

Now, he lay on his stomach, having collapsed in the open desert. He'd been having warnings popping up in his peripheral for months now, so it appeared it was finally time for him to rest. Would that person be proud of him? He'd lived for so long... He was tired.

He replayed that memory one last time, as his systems started to initiate an eternal shutdown. Ah, he wanted to see him... again...

ERROR_

ERROR_

ERROR_

ERROR_

SHUTTING DOWN_

.

.

.

.

.

...I've been waiting for you, Shadow._

Shadow slowly came to consciousness. But... something was different. His systems weren't booting, yet he was aware. There was warmth around him, yet he couldn't initiate a scan to determine what was causing it. What... was this?

He opened his eyes. What he saw immediately was open, blue sky, with white puffy clouds. Ah, he must be lying on his back. He sat up, and looked around at his surroundings. There was... so much green. Grass, trees, foliage... Where was he?

"Welcome home, Shadow."

The voice came from behind him, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he could place it. 

"...Blues?"

He turned around, rising to his feet, and came face to face with the man in his memories. Everything long forgotten came rushing back to him, and he found himself gaping at the Eldest, feeling a cocktail of complex emotions.

"I see you took my words to heart," Blues commented. He was still wearing the same outfit he always had—the trench coat, the scarf, the sunglasses. It was all there, exactly like Shadow remembered. But Blues was _smiling_. 

Shadow took a cautious step toward him, almost hesitant. Was this a trap of some kind? How was this possible?

And yet. He could _feel_ him. His song was there, blending with his own like it had so long ago. This couldn't possibly be anything but Blues.

"You... you're alive..." The ninja whispered, feeling like he could cry. Slowly, he got closer to the DLN, and pulled him into a tight hug. He was _here_. 

Blues returned the hug just as tightly, showing without words that he missed Shadow just as much as Shadow missed him. The DWN broke down, and wept into Blues's hair.

"Hey, hey, shh. It's okay. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere," Blues murmured into the ninja's chest, though he sounded close to tears himself. 

"I thought I'd never see you again," Shadow sobbed, and Blues pulled back to take his face in his hands. Seemingly as an afterthought, he pulled up his shades, exposing his brilliant blue eyes, glistening with tears—a sight rarer than his smile. 

"I'm right here. I promise I'll never leave again." His words were absolute, and Shadow found himself believing them. 

"Fuck, I missed you," the ninja muttered, before kissing the man without hesitation. Blues didn't hesitate either, immediately returning the kiss, expressing the longing his words couldn't.

It was such a blissful moment, but it was eventually interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Shadow reluctantly broke the kiss, glaring at whoever the cough belonged to.

Forte stood before him, hands on his hips and one brow raised above his helm. Ah, of course. 

"You two done?" He said roughly, but it held no animosity. "Sure took ya long enough. How fuckin' long did you live? Goddamn, shoulda seen Blues's face when he felt you arrive."

Shadow's expression morphed into one of confusion. If he had died, then where was this place?

"Apologies, but I'm not sure I understand. Where exactly are we?"

Blues was the one to answer.

"This is a realm we have come to know as the cyberspace. It's only inhabited by mechanical beings, ones who have been decommissioned. It is, as I understand it, an afterlife of sorts."

Shadow was taken aback. Robots had an afterlife? That... was never something he considered. It was certainly a pleasant surprise.

"The others are here too, y'know. Not just me an' Blues," offered Forte, smirking at the ninja. "Though I'm sure you just _love_ lookin' at my beautiful mug."

A roll of the eyes from both Shadow and Blues. Ah, Forte. Never change.

Blues took the ninja's hand, and gently tugged him further into the realm.

"Let's go see them. They all missed you."

Shadow gave Blues's hand a squeeze, wiped his eyes, and nodded, letting his beloved drag him to wherever.


End file.
